“Despite some little turbulence, the residential housing market is still improving,” said Christophe Barraud, an economist at Market Securities-Kyte Group in Paris, who correctly forecast the rate of purchases.

“The housing market keeps on recovering,” said Christophe Barraud, an economist at Market Securities-Kyte Group in Paris. He correctly projected the January gain and is the third-best forecaster of home prices in the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “Interest rates are staying low, which means more first-time homebuyers.”

“Europe’s labor nimbleness, by contrast, has been held back by restrictions on firing and by work rules such as limits on weekly hours, said Christophe Barraud, an economist and strategist with Market Securities-Kyte Group in Paris, who was the top-ranked forecaster of the U.S. economy for the two years ended in December, according to the Bloomberg forecaster data. The U.S. is “one of the most flexible markets in the world and very far from some European markets like France,” he said.”

“Five of the eight most accurate forecasters of the U.S. economy in the two years ended in December were outside the U.S., according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They were led by Christophe Barraud, of Market Securities-Kyte Group in Paris, who studied economics in France and has never visited the U.S.”

“Inflation should be contained in the near-term,” said Christophe Barraud, an economist at Market Securities-Kyte Group in Paris. The second-best forecaster of wholesale prices in the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, said he doesn’t see “a rise in demand coming from the U.S. or Europe that would lead to much higher prices. Inflation is well below the Fed’s target, and that’s why the Fed is not worried today.”

The euro crisis is far from over, says Vimal Popat of Market Securities: “It certainly wasn’t the game-changer that the market now expects each time the ECB has something to say, but it is a move in the right direction. On balance however, there are dark skies ahead and the euro is likely to weaken.”

“Vimal Popat of Market Securities says: China is the EU’s second biggest trading partner but the EU is China’s biggest trading partner and let’s not forget, a huge portion of China’s FX reserves (approx 25pc) are held in euros. Therefore, it’s almost a given that China needs to support the EU to maintain strength in its own economy.”

“This is a terrible figure and this undoubtedly raises expectations of an intervention from the Federal Reserve in the form of quantitative easing,” said Stephane Ekolo, chief European strategist at Market Securities in London. “That said, if we need to solely rely on central banks to get any better, that somehow demonstrates how deeply our economies and markets are ill.”

“It’s very possible that hiring was pulled forward” due to a mild January and February, said Christophe Barraud, an economist and strategist at Market Securities Paris LLP, who correctly forecast April payrolls. “This report is not good, but we have to wait for the next one to see if the real trend is actually decelerating.”

“We could be at some kind of long-term turning point on dollar-yen, although I think it might turn like an ocean liner rather than a speed boat,” said Paul Day, chief strategist at Market Securities in London.